Leadership: When do you Start Training Children
Last article we discussed the great need there is in the church for developing leaders—elders, deacons and preachers. The truth is that we are not training enough men to preach and many congregations are suffering because of a growing lack of leadership. Our homes no longer are places where these leaders were developed in the past. Young men are not being challenged as they once were.
There is a lack of leadership training.
We talked about Hannah and her view of the fact that Samuel was simply given to her by God, and she willingly gave him back to God. Take time to look at a New Testament example of a young man who was given back to God to serve Him.
Who would have ever thought that great church leader would come from a home where the father made no contribution to the spiritual growth of his child? Timothy’s father was a pagan, one who did not even believe in the true God, yet there were other influences in his life which had a far greater impact. The few details we have about his background should be a real encouragement to mothers whose husbands today are in many ways like Timothy’s father.
Timothy’s faith began with his grandmother, Lois. Paul speaks of the faith Timothy had and describes it in this way. It was a “…genuine faith…which dwelt first in your grandmother” (2 Tim. 1:5). It did not stop there. It also dwelt in Lois, her daughter, before it dwelt in Timothy. Parents, you may not realize that you are part of determining the eternal destiny of your grandchildren, even before they are born.
What did Lois and Eunice do to duplicate that genuine faith in Timothy? It began far earlier than most realize. Paul says, “That from childhood you have know the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith” (2 Tim. 3:15). The Greek word for “childhood” in this passage is the same one used to describe baby Jesus as an infant lying in a manger.
What parent or grandparent is there who cannot take time to read the same stories Lois and Eunice used to create faith in His gifts to us? Yet we overlook so many opportunities to speak to them and they never see themselves as future leaders in the church. Moses described the process to be used. “These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down and when you rise up” (Deut. 6:6-7).
The church needs leaders. Think about what you can do to help develop more leaders.